Punjab and Haryana High Court transfers Col Bath assault case to CBI
More than three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court entrusted the investigation of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath assault case to the Chandigarh Police, the Bench on Wednesday transferred the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation on the army officer’s plea.
Col Bath was seeking an independent probe into the matter, preferably by the CBI, on the ground that the Chandigarh Police had failed to conduct “fair and free investigation”.
The direction came just about two days after Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj admonished the Chandigarh Police for its failure to arrest any of the accused Punjab Police personnel.
Describing the delay as intentional, Justice Bhardwaj had asserted the conduct of the police amounted to “setting the wrong example” and protecting the accused.
In his petition, Col Bath asserted the investigation of the instant case was transferred to the Chandigarh Police on April 2.
“It is being stated with utmost disappointment that even despite lapse of more than three and a half months of the registration of the FIR and lapse of three months since the Investigation has been handed over to the Chandigarh Police, neither a single accused has been arrested so far, nor any accused has been associated with the investigation”
The petitioner through counsel Preetinder Singh Ahluwalia added conscious effort on the Investigating agency’s part can be cemented from the fact that no non bailable warrant, no PO proceeding or any other legal proceeding which would be indicative of some conscious and sincere effort, has been initiated on the part of the concerned Investigating agency.
Bath further contended that when the bail application of one of the accused, Ronnie Singh, came up for hearing, the High Court specifically questioned the investigating officer whether the Chandigarh Police would arrest the accused police official if anticipatory bail was dismissed. “The answer was in affirmative but as worrisome and disappointing as it can be, no such arrest has been made till date,” he asserted.
Bath alleged that the facts clearly pointed towards pressure being exerted upon the Chandigarh Police by the “top brass of the Punjab Police”
Alleging a brutal assault by Punjab Police officers and subsequent manipulation of the investigation, Colonel Bath, serving at a “sensitive post under the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India”, had stated in his initial petition that he and his son were “brutally” attacked on the night of March 13-14 in Patiala.
He accused four Inspector-rank Punjab Police officers and their armed subordinates of attacking them without provocation, snatching his official ID card and mobile phone, and issuing threats of fake encounters—all in public view and under CCTV surveillance.
The petitioner had submitted the local police allegedly failed to take action despite the gravity of the offence. Distress calls to senior officials were ignored.
Instead of registering an FIR on his complaint, the police lodged a bogus FIR under ‘affray’ against unknown persons based on a third-party complaint. The officer’s family had to approach senior police officials and even the Governor of Punjab before a subsequent FIR was registered—eight days later.
Punjab